Gary Gray (politician)
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Gary Gray (born 30 April 1958), former Australian politician and Australia's Ambassador to Ireland, was the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
(ALP) representative for the Division of Brand in Western Australia in the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of ...
from 2007 to 2016. On 25 March 2013, Gray was appointed to the
Australian Cabinet The Cabinet of Australia (or Federal Cabinet) is the chief decision-making organ of the executive branch of the government of Australia. It is a council of senior government ministers, ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament. Minis ...
as the
Minister for Resources and Energy The Minister for Resources is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Madeleine King following the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022. In the Australian Government, Government of Australia, the ...
, the
Minister for Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Mini ...
and the Minister for Small Business. From 2010 until 2013, Gray served as the Special Minister of State for the Public Service and Integrity. Before entering Parliament in 2007 Gray spent 16 years as an official of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
, rising to national secretary (1993-2000). He also held senior executive positions, before entering Parliament and again following his retirement from politics in 2016, at some of Australia's largest resources companies. In 1981, Gray graduated with a degree in economics from
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
in Canberra. He was awarded the
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...
in 2001 and made an
Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
in 2003.


Early life and career


Early life

Gray was born in
Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
, Yorkshire, England, and emigrated to Australia with his family in 1966, settling in state housing in
Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
, South Australia. "In June 1966, Mum and Dad packed our bags and a trunk and, along with my brother, David, and sister, Carol, we sailed from Southampton, England, on the ship ''Fairsea''. I was eight years old. Our destination was Adelaide. We were a family of £10 Poms," Gray would later recall, in a nod to a period of significant post-war European migration to Australia. He attended
Whyalla High School Whyalla High School was a high school located in the city of Whyalla in the Australian state of South Australia catering for school years 8–10. It was the first high school built in Whyalla. It was built by BHP in 1943, as a Technical school f ...
, where he was the dux of his graduating year in 1976. After finishing high school he worked at the local BHP steelworks in Whyalla, where his father Gordon had also worked, and then at the
Savings Bank of South Australia The Savings Bank of South Australia was a bank founded in the colony of South Australia in 1848, based in Adelaide. In the early 20th century it established a presence in schools by setting up a special category of savings accounts for schoolch ...
. He joined the Labor Party in 1974, graduated from the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
with a degree in economics in 1981 and moved to Darwin in 1982.


Early political career

From then until May 1985, Gray was the assistant to
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
Bob Collins. On a private visit to the UK in 1985, he worked for the
British Labour Party The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all ...
for a year and inspecting the campaign organisation of other social democratic parties in France, Austria and Sweden. He became one of three national organisers for the ALP in March 1986, in which capacity he worked on the every state and federal ALP campaign between 1986 and 1993. As assistant national secretary during the successful 1987 and 1990 re-election campaigns by the Federal Labor government led by Prime Minister
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
, he initiated the party's marginal ('swing') seats campaign, pioneering the targeting of direct mail to voters in key seats. He was also responsible for fundraising, helping rectify a long-standing imbalance which had seen corporate funding disproportionately directed to the conservative parties. During this time he met and married his wife Deborah, the daughter of former Labor finance minister Peter Walsh. On 30 April 1993, just after
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
won the 1993 election, Gray became National Secretary of the ALP and served as campaign director for the 1996 and 1998 election campaigns. He was one of the few National Secretaries never to have served as a state party secretary, and his ascendancy represented a high-water mark for the influence of the national office in the party's political management. In 1994 Gray led the initiative to create a web presence for the ALP, the first time a political party in Australia had taken its presence online. It matched the then-Labor Government's policy on the internet as a tool for communication. Labor's use of the internet during the 1996 Federal election was highlighted in a parliamentary research paper by Paula Williams alongside her assessment of the internet's use in the 1996 US presidential and 1997 United Kingdom elections. One of Gray's early achievements was to establish the organisational capacity within the ALP to allow it to formally support the democracy movement in South Africa. This aligned the ALP's international activities with the policy position of the Hawke and Keating Governments, led by Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. It also created a practical process for implementing the ALP's enduring position to oppose apartheid. The ALP's history of opposition to apartheid and cooperation with the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
are documented in Peter Limb's book ''A Shared History: The ALP, the ANC and the Australian Anti-Apartheid''. On 10 November 1999 Gray announced his intention to resign as National Secretary. He left the post in April 2000, having served seven years in the role. At the time Gray was the youngest and longest-serving National Secretary in ALP history. Following his departure, Gray and his young family moved to
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. Keating, in 2007, blamed Gray for the loss of the 1996 and 1998 elections, a view that was not shared by the leadership of the ALP at the time. One of the enduring political campaign strategies driven by Gray was the introduction of sausage sizzles at pre-election events. One such "free family sausage sizzle", often also referred to as Democracy Sausage, was arranged for an Australia Day event at Whiteman Park in Perth's north a week before the 1989 State Election. The event was attended by Western Australia Labor Premier
Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...
and Prime Minister
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
and deemed a success by Labor. However, it attracted the ire of the WA Liberal Party, which complained to police that Labor may have breached the Electoral Act. Dowding denied the Act had been breached and was later vindicated by the Electoral Commission, which found that the "dissemination of sausages" was not a bribe under the Act. In 2001, Gray was awarded the Commonwealth Government's
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...
for "services to the political life of Australia as National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party". He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
in the
Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...
honours of 2003 for "service to the Australian Labor Party and to politics through the introduction of modern campaign techniques, fundraising protocols for all political parties, affirmative action guidelines, and by strengthening the party's organisational and financial structure." Gray's work on affirmative action guidelines is credited with the significant increase in female representation in all subsequent Labor State and Federal parliaments.


Corporate career

In April 2000, he quit working for the party hierarchy entirely and took up a role with
Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
as the Executive Director of the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research, now known as the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Within a year, he was engaged by
Woodside Petroleum Woodside Energy Group Ltd (formerly Woodside Petroleum Ltd) is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company. Woodside is the operator of oil and gas production in Australia and also Australia's largest independent dedicated oil a ...
as an adviser on the Perth oil and gas company's ultimately successful bid to repel a hostile takeover by the
Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...
. Gray was then asked to join Woodside, becoming the Director of Corporate Affairs on the company's executive board. During his time at Woodside, Gray represented the company before governments on four continents in the roles of negotiator, advocate and leader. He is one of a number of federal parliamentarians who are subject to allegations of conflict of interest over their service to Woodside, including participation in the Australia–East Timor spying scandal of 2004.Dowling, Shane
Scott Morrison appointed former Labor MP and Woodside executive Gary Gray as Ambassador to Ireland to cover up the East Timor bugging scandal
. At kangaroocourtofaustralia.com, 29 May 2022
Bandt, Adam (30 March 2022)
Speech on Offshore Petroleum (Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy) Bill 2021
''Hansard'', 30 March 2021.


Federal parliamentary career

Gray left Woodside to contest pre-selection for the seat of
Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
in Western Australia, to replace the retiring MP
Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...
, ahead of the 2007 federal election. Gray renounced his British citizenship at that time. The Brand electorate covers the
City of Kwinana The City of Kwinana is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in metropolitan Perth, and lies about 38 km south of Perth central business district, via the Kwinana Freew ...
and the City of Rockingham, the southern areas of the Perth metropolitan area. Gray won the seat on a 0.97-point swing and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia and later Parliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia in the First Rudd Ministry. During the 2010 leadership change in the Labor Party, Gray declared his support for
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
and has maintained support for Gillard since. At the 2010 federal election, he was re-elected as the Member for Brand and in the ensuing reshuffle appointed Special Minister of State (located in the
Department of Finance and Deregulation The Australian Department of Finance and Deregulation was a Federal Government department that existed between December 2007 and September 2013. Its role was to help the Australian Government achieve its policy objectives by contributin ...
) and Special Minister of State for the Public Service and Integrity in the Second Gillard Ministry. His latter role was restyled as Minister for the Public Service and Integrity following the December 2011 reshuffle with no apparent change in responsibility. In a reconfiguration of the Ministry in March 2013, Gray was elevated to the Cabinet and promoted as the Minister for Resources and Energy, the Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Small Business. Gray's appointment as Minister for Resources and Energy was welcomed by the mining sector and business ("Miners welcome Gary Gray into resources job" Australian Financial Review 25 March 2013). The Australian Mines and Metals Association's Chief Executive Steve Knott issued a statement welcoming the appointment, saying Gray was "highly regarded" by the resources sector. Following the 2013 election that delivered defeat for the Rudd Government and the election of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, Gray remained on the Opposition front bench under the leadership of
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...
as Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Shadow Minister for Resources and Shadow Special Minister of State. In 2014, Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Lib ...
, addressing the Federal Parliament in Canberra for the first time, highlighted Gray's role in driving an exchange program with representatives of the
National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...
, Japan's bicameral legislature, as a key plank of deepening ties between the two countries.


Foreign worker EMAs

As a parliamentary secretary in the Rudd Government, Gray was asked to chair the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce comprising employment and training agencies, unions and employers to examine ways of dealing with the expected shortage of workers on major resource projects. In July 2010, the taskforce put recommendations to the Federal Government, including a proposed enterprise migration agreement (EMA). After consideration by the Government, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship,
Chris Bowen Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first ele ...
, and the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, announced on 25 May 2012 that the first EMA would be for the proposed $US10 billion
Roy Hill The Roy Hill mine is an iron ore mine in the Chichester Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, located north of Newman and south of Port Hedland. With indicated and inferred reserves of more than , it is expected to become one of ...
world-scale iron ore mine, being developed in Western Australia's Pilbara region by businesswoman
Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian mining magnate and businesswoman. Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by h ...
and her partners
Marubeni Corporation (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a ''sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a st ...
,
POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by this measure. In 2010, i ...
and
China Steel Corporation :''There is an unrelated raw material processing company named Sinosteel based in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China).'' China Steel Corporation (CSC; ) is the largest integrated steel maker in Taiwan. Its main steel mill is located ...
. The announcement said more than 8000 workers would be required for the construction phase and to meet labour demand, the Government would allow up to 1715 skilled workers or
457 visa In Australia, the 457 visa was the most common visa for Australian or overseas employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers to work temporarily in Australia. It was abolished on 18 March 2018 by the Turnbull government and replaced by another vis ...
s for overseas workers for the three-year construction phase. Roy Hill's construction coincided with an acute skills shortage in Western Australia's North West, driven by the concurrent investment of more than $100 billion in resources projects including Chevron's
Gorgon A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...
and Wheatstone LNG plants,
Woodside Petroleum Woodside Energy Group Ltd (formerly Woodside Petroleum Ltd) is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company. Woodside is the operator of oil and gas production in Australia and also Australia's largest independent dedicated oil a ...
's Pluto LNG project and
Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of ...
's Solomon iron ore hub. The day after the Government's EMA announcement, Australian Workers Union secretary
Paul Howes Paul Howes (born 23 August 1981) was involved in the Australian trade union movement from 1999 through 2014. His most recent position was as National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, the youngest person to serve in that position. In ...
, who was a member of the original taskforce, declared it "sheer lunacy" and an "ideal Christmas present" for Gina Rinehart. Later, five West Australian unions launched an advertising campaign against Gray in his electorate of Brand, linking his support of the EMA policy and the 26% youth unemployment rate in the electorate areas of Kwinana and Rockingham. The advertisements called for a protest outside Gray's electorate office on Saturday, 16 June 2012. Unionists also attacked Gray personally and Prime Minister Gillard issued a statement of her support for Gray, published in ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' on 2 June, in which she described him as a "valuable member of the Government" who was a "dedicated, hard-working and effective minister". Ms Gillard also told Parliament "the Roy Hill agreement will go ahead (because) it supports Australian jobs and I support Australian jobs". Later, the WA unions cancelled their planned "community protest". Despite the PM's support, Opposition Leader
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
claimed "we have a prime minister who is not prepared to defend one of her most capable ministers" and went on to criticise the involvement of the unions in the Labor Party, referring to them as "the faceless men". The Roy Hill consortium secured $US7.2 billion in debt finance to construct the 55Mtpa mine, 344 km rail and port operation. Roy Hill heralded the size of the debt financing as the "largest ever ... for the development of a land-based mining project worldwide". Up to 6000 workers were employed during the construction phase. First iron ore was shipped from Port Hedland in December 2015. The mine is one of the world's largest single sources of iron ore and has created permanent employment for about 2000 workers in the Pilbara and in Perth.


Career after parliament

In February 2016, Gray announced that he would not be contesting the upcoming election on 2 July, citing a need for Labor to enable the next generation to step up. He cited his late father-in-law Peter Walsh, a former finance minister in the Hawke government, who died in 2015. "Pete had a big career in Federal politics but he retired by the time he was 58", Gray told ABC radio. He was succeeded by
Madeleine King Madeleine Mary Harvie King (née Morris; born 31 March 1973) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia in the Albanese government s ...
. Soon after the 2016 election Gray, who had maintained strong connections in Western Australia with both sides of politics and was well regarded for his pragmatic approach to working with the resources sector, returned to the corporate fold as general manager of external affairs for
Mineral Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
. In addition to his full-time role with Mineral Resources, Gray has served on the board of the Federal Government's navy shipbuilder
ASC Shipbuilding ASC Shipbuilding, formerly the shipbuilding division of ASC Pty Ltd, is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia and will remain a subsidiary for the duration of the contract to build the ''Hunter'' class frigates. It was structurally separate ...
, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, as a non-executive director since 2017 and is one of 13 trustees of the Channel 7 Telethon Trust, which is chaired by Richard Goyder. Gray, who has had a lifelong passion for astronomy, is on the board of the
Perth Observatory The Perth Observatory is the name of two astronomical observatory, observatories located in Western Australia (WA). In 1896, the original observatory was founded in West Perth, Western Australia, West Perth on Mount Eliza (Western Australia), ...
, Western Australia's oldest observatory, which is located 35 km east of Perth in Bickley. He also co-edited the book ''Not Just for Life: Gough Whitlam'', a salute and tribute to former Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
launched in 2016 to commemorate what would have been his 100th birthday. Gray was married to Walsh's daughter Deborah, with whom he had three sons, Riley Walsh Gray, Darcy Walsh Gray and Toby Walsh Gray. Deborah died on 20 October 2017 following an 18-month battle with metastatic breast cancer. 2/sup> Gray asked those attending the funeral not to bring flowers but instead donate to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, where his wife was taking part in its BROCADE research program to better understand how and why some breast cancers become resistant to therapies. In June 2020, Gray self-published a book about Deborah. The book is entitled ; “Deborah Walsh A life that’s Good” . Its purpose was to tell her story through her family, friends and her food. Only 130 high quality copies were printed and were gifts to close family and friends. The Book was provided to the Parliamentary of Western  Australia, the library of the Federal Parliament in Canberra and is in the Battye Library in Perth. Upon Gray’s meeting with
President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
, Michael D Higgins, in September 2020, Gray gifted a copy for the Presidential library in Ireland.


Ambassador to Ireland

On 26 June 2020, the Commonwealth Government of Australia announced the appointment of Gray as Australia's next ambassador to Ireland. Gray succeeded Richard Andrews, who left Ireland early in 2020 and had has held the Dublin-based role since late 2016. Gray's ambassadorship triggered his resignation at Mineral Resources Limited and the boards of ASC Shipbuilding, Channel 7 Telethon Trust and the Perth Observatory. Gary took up his new role in Dublin in August 2020 and presented his credentials to President
Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
in September 2020. Gray is appointed to the role for four years. In 2021, Gray ensured that the Embassy in Dublin became the first Australian embassy in the world to permanently fly the Australian Aboriginal Flag alongside the
Australian Flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...
.


See also

* Second Gillard Ministry


References


External links


Personal homepage
*
Ministerial Website Parliamentary Portfolio
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Gary 1958 births Living people Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Government ministers of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Brand Officers of the Order of Australia Australian National University alumni English emigrants to Australia People who lost British citizenship Naturalised citizens of Australia People from Rotherham 21st-century Australian politicians Wesfarmers people Australian Labor Party officials